What's My Friend Doing?

For 2- to 4-year-olds

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. Your child will watch an interactive video in which they see a child performing an action labeled with a made-up verb (e.g., “She is going to tam it”). After watching the video, participants will see a split screen showing two different actions being performed. The research assistant will then ask the child to point to or say aloud which action matches with the made-up verb.

This study will allow us to examine how well children learn new verbs based on watching first-person clips of a child their own age performing an action. Past studies have shown how children can learn through observation, but have primarily focused on learning from third-person and adult viewpoints. This study tests whether children can learn new verbs from a perspective that resembles theirs. This study is also being conducted in the Netherlands, allowing researchers to learn more about how kids from differing cultures acquire verbs for everyday actions.

15 minutes

You will receive a USA $5 Amazon gift card. To receive compensation, the participating child must be between 2 and 4 years old. There is a maximum of one gift card per child.